Late-season push: Ben Gregg, Ryan Nembhard carry Gonzaga past USF to earn second seed in WCC Tournament
SAN FRANCISCO – Gonzaga went more than three months this season without a Quad 1 victory. The Zags fixed that in a hurry this week, racking up two Quad 1s in five days to enter the post season with momentum in tow.
Ben Gregg went more than a month without making a 3-pointer, but he found the range Saturday, dropping three triples and scoring 23 points against San Francisco.
Ryan Nembhard can’t seem to go more than a game or two without breaking a record or reaching another milestone. Nembhard’s fifth assist against the Dons gave him 300 this season. He became just the 21st player in Division I history to reach 300 in a season.
Gregg and Nembhard guided the Zags to a convincing 95-75 victory over USF in front of 6,347 at Chase Center. Perhaps 60% of the audience at the Golden State Warriors’ home arena was rooting for the Dons.
Nembhard finished with 15 assists for the second time this week and third time this season – one short of the Blake Stepp’s school record.
“I love the game of basketball,” Nembhard said. “I just come into every game ready to hoop, whatever we need. I think it’s special I got that (300 for the season). Great teammates and credit to them for putting the ball in the hoop.”
The Zags, winners of seven of their last eight, locked up the second seed and a bye into the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on Monday, March 10, at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Saint Mary’s is the top seed.
“We really did keep our foot down on the pedal,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “To get that number of points is huge. Also, that’s a really dangerous team. I don’t think anybody’s done that to them. To come here on the road and do that to both Santa Clara (a 95-76 win Tuesday) and San Francisco, I think we’re playing our best ball of the year. That’s what I told our guys.”
Gonzaga (23-8, 14-4 WCC) would run into the third-seeded Dons (23-8, 13-5) if USF wins its quarterfinal matchup next Sunday. The Zags have won 32 in a row against San Francisco spanning 13 years.
Gonzaga improved to 3-6 in Quad 1. There’s a chance Baylor, No. 31 in the NET prior to defeating Oklahoma State on Saturday, could move back into the top 30, which would make GU’s 101-63 win over the Bears in the season opener a Quad 1. The NET rankings are updated daily.
Gregg misfired on his first three 3-point attempts against the Dons, who opted not to guard him at the 3-point arc. Gregg shifted his focus closer to the rim and had three field goals and made four of his free throws before breaking through behind the 3-point line.
“Seeing a free throw go in is big – a shot, not just a layup, and I still missed a couple of easy layups I should have made,” Gregg said. “It is nice to get those shots up early and you’ve got guys like (Nembhard) that give you the ball wherever you want in easy spots.”
Gregg’s 3 – on Nembhard’s 300th assist of the season – gave Gonzaga a 38-29 lead late in the first half and snapped an 0-for-13 stretch from distance dating back to the Portland game on Jan. 25.
“You have to pick what you’re going to be willing to live with when you play their team,” San Francisco coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “They have so many guys that can hurt you. You have to be willing to give something up. In the first half, we were trying to protect the paint and sag off Ben in the middle of the floor, no disrespect.
“Their ‘4’ men (Gregg and Michael Ajayi) were 1 of 5 from 3 in the first half. Credit to him in the second half. He adjusted to our coverage and stepped up and made a couple.”
Gregg scored a hard-earned 13 points in the opening half and contributed to a trio of runs that allowed Gonzaga to create separation from the Dons.
GU used a pair of 7-0 runs to build leads of 12-6 and 26-17. An 11-0 burst extended Gonzaga’s lead to 46-29 before a Marcus Williams jumper left the Dons down by 15 at half.
Gonzaga had some lapses at both ends of the court in each half, but when the Zags were on, they were really on. They shot 57.6% from the field, 45.8% on 3s and hit 16 of 19 free throws (84.2%).
USF made 50% of its shots in the second half but finished just 3 of 18 on 3-pointers. Williams poured in 28 points, but Malik Thomas, who came in averaging a conference-leading 19.3 points, scored 13 on 4-of-18 shooting.
“I thought our defense was pretty rock solid and our offense was exceptional,” Few said.
The Zags led by as many as 24 points in the second half.
Gonzaga’s Nolan Hickman had 17 points, Graham Ike 15 and Khalif Battle added 14.